Kansas

flag of Kansas
The Sunflower State
Admitted January 29, 1861

The Kansas flag was designed and sewn by Lincoln seamstress, Hazel Avery, for a 1925 Fourth of July parade.

It was adopted in 1927, replacing a previous state banner that had been rejected for display in Washington D.C. It was designed to hang from a horizontal bar and wouldn’t fly well next to other state flags.

Avery’s flag was later altered to add “Kansas” below the state seal.

This version was officially adopted September 24, 1961.

Composition

The Kansas flag features a field of dark blue charged with the state seal, centered.

Above the seal is the state’s sunflower crest and below is the word “Kansas” in gold.

flag of Kansas

Iconography

  • half-circle of stars in three rows

    34 stars

    Kansas as the 34th state to join the Union

  • Ad Astra Per Aspera, on a half-circle banner

    motto

    westward expansion, To the Stars through Difficulties

  • sunflower

    sunflower

    state flower, regional flora

  • train of covered wagons pulled by oxen

    wagon train

    westward expansion

  • Native Americans on horseback hunting buffalo

    Native peoples

    the Kansas plains, shared history with Native Americans

  • mountains with a sun rising behind

    rising sun

    the east, tradition

  • steamboat on a river

    steamboat

    the Kansas River, commerce

  • a man and horses plow a field by a house

    farming

    rich agricultural tradition

Coat of Arms

The Kansas seal and coat of arms are credited to state senator John James Ingalls. It is a complicated and detailed design that is often reproduced with poor quality.

the Kansas coat of arms

Colors

The Kansas flag prominently features blue and gold, with supporting colors within the state seal.


Kansas statute describes the colors of the flag, but doesn’t provide Cable or Pantone values.The hex values here are approximations.
Blue
#002569
Gold
#f1ad02
Orange
#ff660e
Yellow
#feff00
Green
#3cff15
Light Blue
#4ea8ff
Purple
#794488
Brown
#583b19

Construction

The Kansas flag uses a proportion of 3:5.

Kansas statute specifies the proportion and spacing for the flag’s visual elements in feet and inches, which is rendered here.

construction sheet for the flag of Kansas

Previous iteration

Hazel Avery’s original flag design used from 1927 until 1961.

similar to the current Kansas flag but with the word “Kansas” missing

Sources